Chapter 308
Stephanie hadn’t planned to spend the night there. But since it was Christmas, she thought she should at least have dinner with her aunt. However, as soon as she stepped into Diana’s house, she found herself unable to muster the courage to gu
inside.
“I… I have to go.” Stephanie suddenly froze at the doorway, her nerves on edge, her eyes fixed on the two urns in the large cabinet at the center of the house. Her voice turned hoarse and strained, and she quickly turned and ran
Diana followed behind her, startled by her sudden departure, and shouted, “Steffi, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Diana didn’t catch how pale Stephanie’s face had turned, but her hurried steps made it seem like she was running from something.
As the figure ahead grew smaller in the distance, Diana grew increasingly anxious and worried. She immediately dropped the fruit basket and supplements she was holding to chase after ber. But Diana couldn’t keep up with Stephanie’s pace. “Steffi, whatever trouble you’re in, you should tell me. I’m your aint. Don’t you trust me anymore?”
Diana’s father and sister had passed away, making Stephanie her closest kin. She had watched Stephanie grow up, always considering her the dearest person in her life. They had endured hard times together after leaving Reed Villa, relying on each other for many years, but now they seemed like strangers.
“No matter what I did before, I would never hurt you.” Diana’s voice was filled with sorrow, and her last words were coming out in a sob.
“Everyone says they won’t hurt me, but you kept me in the dark just because I didn’t ask doesn’t mean I didn’t know!” Stephanie stopped in her tracks, turned back, and faced her so–called family member, her voice trembling and rising in pitch from the intensity of her emotions.
She didn’t want to hold grudges, having disliked doing so since she was a child. Whether it was the Reed family, the Nelson family, or the sisters, Claire and Courtney, Stephanie told herself to ignore what she could tolerate and fight back against what she couldn’t. If she couldn’t fight, she’d hide and recover herself.
Stephanie believed that hatred would make her soul turn hideous and twisted, causing her to lose herself. She truly disliked conflict.
Her grandfather said she was naive and would suffer for it, but she felt that living for herself was the most genuine way to
live. Stephanie’s personality was greatly influenced by her grandfather. Her mother had been too weak to care for her much after giving birth, making Diana her closest female elder. Diana was even closer to Stephanie than her mother.
Had it not been for these incidents, Stephanie wouldn’t have talked back to her. She lowered her head and softly vowed. “Diana, after everything is settled, I’ll go with you to Briarwood for a new life.” Hearing this, Diana’s eyes glistened with tears. staring at Stephanie without saying another word.
Eventually, Stephanie said, “Merry Christmas. Take good care of yourself, and don’t worry about me.” She still didn’t go inside to have dinner with Diana.
When Diana returned home and stood at the doorway, she saw the two urns on the wooden cabinet in the living room. It was only then that she realized why her niece had run out so frantically. It was because she had seen them.
She then blamed herself for not thinking ahead. When Diana had received Stephanie’s call saying she was coming over just now she was so thrilled that she had only thought about preparing food, forgetting about the urns.
Diana wasn’t usually superstitious, but she took it seriously this time. She had heard that miscarried babies carried immense
Tow, so she made sure to respectfully honor their remains by praying for them every day. It was said this could bring peace to their souls. She was filled with remorse, merely wanting to find some peace for her conscience.
She returned to her house, didn’t bother with the Christmas dinner, and thought for a while. Suddenly, she lifted her head and looked at the two urns on the cabinet with a skeptical expression. “Steffi said she’d leave when things were settled. Dors
that mean…things aren’t settled yet?”
Meanwhile, Stephanie wandered aimlessly and found herself in the center of Eastwall Plaza. Unlike the beautiful and romantic lights of last night’s Christmas Eve, the plaza was bustling with crowds today on Christmas Day.
Suddenly, she heard a voice asking. “Would you like to buy a rose?” Stephanie turned her eyes to the right and saw the same young girl, about seven or eight years old, from the previous night, politely trying to sell a rose to a man walking by.
The man, apparently annoyed by the little girl’s persistence, gave her a nasty look and walked away arrogantly. The girl timidly lowered her head and clutched her basket of roses tightly
Stephanie then walked over to her, crouched down to be at eye level with the little girl, and gently asked, “Can I talk to your
for a moment?”
The girl’s bright eyes widened as she looked at Stephanie’s face. At first, she was too shy to speak. After a minute or so, she seemed reassured that Stephanie meant no harm and softly asked, “Miss, do you need something from me?”
She pointed to the basket of roses in the little girl’s arms and said, “I want to buy all your roses, but I need to ask you question first.”
The little girl’s face lit up with surprise. “You want to buy all my roses?”
“But my brother said only boys buy roses to give to girls. He told me not to sell to girls. This was what her brother had. taught her last night.
Stephanie smiled, “Girls can give roses to boys too.”
At that, the little girl seemed to suddenly understand and replied. “Oh, my brother was wrong then.”
“So, you were trying to buy a flower from me last night?”
Stephanie looked a bit surprised that the little girl remembered her. After you met me last night, did a man buy a rose from you?” she asked, fearing she might have remembered incorrectly, so she described him as precisely as she could. “He was tall, very handsome, and dressed in formal clothes and shoes. He looked a bit serious and didn’t talk much.”
Are v you talking about the rich man?” The little girl seemed to recall one particular customer from the previous night.
Stephanie thought the little girl had a good memory and was very smart. She chuckled, “Yes, he is pretty rich.”
“Miss, are you friends with that man?” the little girl suddenly asked, sounding a bit anxious.
“He took a rose from me and gave me so much money… the little girl continued, placing her basket on the ground and gesturing with her hands to show the amount, roughly the size of two bricks. She continued, “A whole lot of money.
“I was so scared that I didn’t dare to take it. Then, my brother ran over, and the man put all the money into my basket and left.
Hearing this, Stephanie’s expression turned a bit odd. He had actually spent a large amount of cash on just one rose.
The little girl looked very tense, her head lowered, standing straight as if she had done something wrong. She was so frightened that she started to whisper, “Miss, can you help us return the money to that man? My brother said the police might arrest us for having so much money. In the end, the little girl’s eyes reddened, looking as if she were about to cry.
Stephanie took a moment before softly reassuring her, “You don’t need to be afraid of him.”